Congressman Rob Woodall Speaks at Forsyth GOP Meeting

Seventh District Congressman Rob Woodall (R-GA.), a lawyer and former member of Congressman John Linder's staff, was the keynote speaker at Tuesday night's meeting of the Forsyth County Republican Party.

The meeting, held at the , served as Woodall's introduction to Forsyth County, the southern half of which became a part of his district when Georgia lawmakers redrew the state's political boundaries last summer. In addition to Forsyth County, the seventh district now includes Gwinnett, Walton, Barrow and Newton counties.

Woodall said while serving on Linder's staff in Washington D.C., he became frustrated with President Bill Clinton's tax bill and Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan and the negative impact each would have on the American people.

That frustration eventually led to his decision to run for Congress once Linder announced his retirement.

He was elected during last year's mid-term election when Republicans took over the House of Representatives and has since been appointed to serve on the House Committee on Rules and the House Budget Committee.

Woodall said the freshman class of congressmen and women who came into office with him are focused like a laser on the budget.

"The men and women I got elected with don't care if they get reelected or not," he said. "I promise you they don't. Every time we're told to stay on message, we say 'we don't care about your message. What we care about is doing the right thing. If we do that, the message will take care of itself and the elections will take care of themselves too."'

Woodall said he will be responsive to his constituents.

"The day I decide to stop answering your phone calls is the day I'm getting out of the business," he said. "I love taking those phone calls. I don't worry when our office is full of folks who come early and stay late. I worry about the day folks say, 'I don't want to talk to my congressman. He doesn't care about me. He's not looking out for me.' That's my fear."